NWS

An arctic air blast swept south from Canada, spreading into the northern United States. Meanwhile, residents of the Pacific Northwest braced for possible mudslides and levee failures as floodwaters slowly recede. The concern for Alabama and the southeast are brutally cold temperatures tonight and early this week with lows in the mid-teens in some spots.

Huntsville, Dothan, Birmingham, and Garden City in Cullman County spread the word early about the brutal overnight cold. The low temperatures along the Tennessee Valley, over the weekend and into Monday morning, are forecast to be as low as the mid teens. Even the Wiregrass region toward the south was predicted to be in the mid-twenties.

The cities of Montgomery and Birmingham and the Jimmie Hale Mission will have warming stations open night as some of the first blasts of winter weather hit Alabama. Low twenties are in the forecast from the Tennessee Valley to Tuscaloosa and the Magic City. The Gulf coast is expected to be closer to thirty.

A tropical weather system near the Florida Panhandle is showing a moderate chance of becoming a tropical depression. The National Hurricane Center said Wednesday that the system could impact southeastern Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. Heavy rain is expected, with New Orleans bracing for up to 10 inches in some areas through Saturday.

The 2025 hurricane season starts this weekend. Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say there’s a sixty percent of an above average number of major storms this year. Up to five named hurricanes are expected during the season.

A new Alabama study of hurricane-affected homes sends a clear message to insurers and homeowners nationwide: climate-resilient construction methods can protect homes, and save a lot of money. The first-of-its-kind analysis, released this week, reviews thousands of insurance claims linked to Hurricane Sally, which struck Alabama's coast in 2020 with wind speeds up to 105 miles per hour.

With warmer than normal ocean waters, forecasters are expecting yet another unusually busy hurricane season for the Atlantic. But they don't think it will be as chaotic as 2024, the third-costliest season on record as it spawned killer storms Beryl, Helene and Milton.

Alabama is bracing for the possible of strong storms after a weekend that knocked out power to close to 30,000 homes and businesses. As nasty tornadoes popped up from Kansas to Kentucky, a depleted National Weather Service was in scramble mode. Weather watchers keeping an eye on the Gulf coast say conditions appear favorable for more rough storms, with fewer forecasters to warn the public.

Forecasters said that more tornadoes and storms were possible in the central U.S. as people from Texas to Kentucky cleaned up from severe weather that has killed more than two dozen people in four days. Alabama was hit by severe thunderstorms on Saturday which knocked out power to around thirty thousand homes and businesses. The National Weather Service says Tuesday’s threat includes the risk of severe storms moving into Alabama, as well as Mississippi and Tennessee.

Powerful thunderstorms left close to thirty thousand homes and businesses without electricity over the weekend. Blustery winds down trees and damaged homes in Trussville. The rough weather was part of a series of storms through the south that turned deadly. Close to thirty people were reported killed and another hospitalized. The Associated Press says the worst of the losses were in Kentucky with close to twenty fatalities.